OTTAWA — The Ottawa Charge’s ascension from one of the bottom teams in the PWHL to a franchise that’s two wins away from winning the Walter Cup started with a trade deadline that was widely viewed as a head-scratcher.
In March 2024, Ottawa traded defender Amanda Boulier for Montreal forward Tereza Vanišová in a tidy bit of work in using its depth on defense to add more offense to its lineup. Then general manager Mike Hirshfeld traded fan-favorite Lexie Adzija for Shiann Darkangelo, who at the time had just one point in her PWHL career.
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Ottawa fans were shocked by the early departure of one of the team’s breakout personalities. And the early reviews weren’t kind — gave Ottawa a C for the move.
In reality, that inaugural trade deadline was the start of a series of aggressive, smart and crafty roster moves over the last 14 months — including a blockbuster trade, savvy draft selections and efficient free agency signings — that have put the Charge on the doorstep of a league title.
It’s a method of roster building that has been out of necessity for Hirshfeld: Unlike most of the other original six franchises in the PWHL, the Ottawa market hasn’t historically been a hotbed for women’s hockey, and hasn’t exactly been a destination for top free agents. Case in point: Ottawa drafted Daryl Watts in the sixth round of the inaugural PWHL Draft. She led the team in goals in 2024 and signed with Toronto (her hometown team) in the offseason.
“We knew we were never going to be able to compete with Toronto,” Hirshfeld said in an interview with . “Montreal has a huge base, and they have (Marie-Philip) Poulin and others. Boston is always a hub for women’s hockey; everyone played university there. And Minnesota is always going to be a hub … So we’ve had to be creative.”
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Both Vanišová and Darkangelo were identified by the organization as players who could hit another level if given the chance (and more ice time) in a new environment. At the time of the deals, Vanišová had a modest 10 points in 17 games for Montreal and Darkangelo was playing a fairly minimal role in Boston with very little production.
This year, however, only superstars Hilary Knight and Poulin had more goals than Vanišová, who broke out as a spark plug for Ottawa with the ability to drive offense — but also mix it up. In February, she and Jill Saulnier got in the first fight in the league’s history.
“She’s got elite talent and…